I thought I'd get a thread going. Looks like we'll be late lottery. Who do you guys like there? Some players of interest

Sullinger - likely gone, but I see him as a better passing Paul Milsap. He will struggle defensively, but I think he'd be a great 25-30 minute PF off the bench if Monroe is the starter at PF(but moving to C often).

Kanter - Again, likely gone, but he's my #1 or 2 target(Irving). Great basketball IQ, smooth offensive game and not afraid to get tough and physical. ESPN called him a taller Al Horford.

John Henson - has the length, athleticism and defensive accumen we need at Pf next to Monroe. Not very strong,but similar to Ed Davis last year, though Davis is better probably.

Markieff Morris - A tough, athletic big man. Very good rebounder and defender, won't ever have much polish offensively.

Darrius Morris - I threw him on here partially because he's a local guy, but I love him for the Pistons personally. I do NOT think he leaves this year at all, don't get me wrong. I definitely don't want him to leave either. However, he has the size/length Joe likes in his guards and he is a pass first PG, or at least turning into one. He is also developing as a shooter and it appears he will only get better. I tihnk he's everything we are missing at the point. Not ready yet, but if he comes out I'd rather snag him now and wait a yaer for him to develop. Who else is a better prospect at the point this year besides Irving?

Who else you guys like?

Kombo

03-16-2011 05:18 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

This year, I think any position is a possibility for us. Stuckey/Prince might both be S+T bait, and we only have developing young players at the 3(Daye) and then Monroe, who can start at the 4 or 5.

John Henson would be an interesting fit next to Monroe. He is super freaky long, and doesn't follow that often. Down the stretch he showed more intensity going for rebounds. Our front court would be rail thing, but it might be a fit.

Terrence Jones might be available for us. To me, he is a poor man's Josh Smith/Lamar Odom merged together. He'd be a combo forward. Might make a decent forward rotation if we're stuck with Charlie V forever. Daye could play the 3, Terrence the 4. Then Charlie the first forward off the bench, with either Daye/Jones staying at the 3. I wouldn't mind this pick, I like Jones a lot more than Aminu from last year, but I hated Aminu (there were rumors he was our target).

I think Kemba Walker is a possibility if we're giving up on Rodney or find a good trade partner (Stuckey + Prince for Jeff Green?). I don't like Kemba Walker as a pro player. I think he could be good, but I don't think he's a guy that'll be a championship type player. He could be exciting though, but our backcourt would be very short with Walker / Gordon. I guess I wouldn't be overly upset with Kemba, as even though he picked up his scoring volume this year, he showed (some) signs of improving efficiency as well.

Kawhi Leonard I think is an interesting prospect too. Reminds of Paul George in that he came slightly out of no where to a near lock for a top 12 pick. He'd play the 4 with Daye at the three. I'd be okay with us going with Leonard. We won't have any intimidators inside with Leonard/Monroe starting, but Leonard is an energy guy. Him and Jerebko could be very annoying to play against. If he could learn to shoot decently, he could be a real weapon for some team.

Just some thoughts...

el gringos

03-17-2011 12:34 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

kawai Leanord is not a pf in the nba- barely big enough to play the 3, and you would hope Terrance Jones would play the 3 as well.

Daye will eventually play pf

Nastradamus

03-17-2011 07:11 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

Leonard is just fine as a SF, he has very good length and athleticism to make up for the inch he lacks(6'7) for the 3 spot.

Jones is a PF most likely. Like the above poster said, he's a Josh Smith/Lamar Odom hybrid, maybe Anthony Randolph if he doesn't do well. He's a very good shotblocker with good size and athleticism. He could play some 3, but eventually will settle in as a 4 most likely.

I can't see Daye ever playing PF

I think I want the Pistons to take Kenneth Faried.

Nastradamus

03-25-2011 11:55 AM

Re: Piston draft prospects

While I will probably be fascinated with the idea of Faried right up until draft time, as he has potential to be Ben v.2.0, damn it would be nice to get a top 3 pick and land Derrick Williams some how.

Kombo

03-25-2011 01:01 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

The Derrick Williams hype is flying now. I'm glad, he was my favorite prospect all year. He'd be a great fit in NJ or Washington.

I think the first 4 picks right now look like Kyrie, Sullinger, Williams and Jones.

A guy that has really helped his stock this tournament in Brandon Knight. He had that great game, and then a terrible game but came up big in crunch time. If he can have another good game tonight his stock will be very high, with some favoring him over Kemba due to size.

I'm disappointed by Kawhi Leonard. I don't know what I was expecting. He didn't have a terrible tournament, but he didn't do anything special either. I hope he goes back to school as he needs to learn how to shoot. That way he can play for a run and gun team and be a poor man's Marion. I think I had some blinders on.

I think you're right about Faried. I love Faried, to be honest I had never seen him play before this tournament. I think I like all players that remind me of Predator when they play... He could be rising too, especially if more players decide to go back to school (like Hamilton and Thompson from UT).

I think people will be disappointed if they pass on him. It seems too obvious he'll be a productive player. No reason he can't have at least Dejuan Blair's impact in this league with more defense.

Nastradamus

03-28-2011 01:07 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

well it sounds like Sullinger is going back for sure, but I agree on the rest of your post, especially on Leonard. Good player, but needs more work. Could be a Gerald Wallace with a little bit of a shot

idizzle

03-29-2011 07:23 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

I'm watching the NIT Final Four and they commentators say the Pistons are scouting Klay Thompson from Washington St and Alec Burk from Colorado. Both are SGs who can light it up.

Kombo

03-31-2011 02:36 AM

Re: Piston draft prospects

Quote:

Originally Posted by idizzle

I'm watching the NIT Final Four and they commentators say the Pistons are scouting Klay Thompson from Washington St and Alec Burk from Colorado. Both are SGs who can light it up.

Pretty interesting they'd take special note of that, seems like there would be a lot of scouts there. NBADraft.net has Alec Burks going 5th overall nowadays.

dd24

04-04-2011 02:05 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

We need to take the best player available regardless of position. We have guys who can play multiple positions right now so moving someone from PG to SG or from C to PF isn't a big deal. We need the best available player.

The Morris brothers should not be lottery picks. I'd be very upset if we took either of them.

I'm not sold on Kanter. Even Calipari said he wasn't as good as what Cousins was when he went there. It's so hard to judge him based on the fact that he didn't play in college this year too. I have to believe a guy that would've coached him.

With that said, I'm not really sold on any of these European big men that are all supposed to be lottery picks. At least one of them is going to be the next Darko, if not two of them. In Darko's defense, he has gotten better but with a fairly high lottery pick like Detroit will have this year I'm not looking for a guy who can only start on a handfull of teams. I want a solid starter that has the potential to be a star.

Sullinger we can quit talking about because he's not even in the draft and if he was he'd be too high of a pick for us.

I think there's a couple of guys who could go anywhere from 3-8 and could potentially fall to where the Pistons will be selecting.... Perry Jones and Harrison Barnes. I think these two guys (besides Irving) have the most star potential in the draft. They also could end up being mediocre. They are a gamble that will either end up really good or just role players. With as weak as this years draft is I think that's a gamble that needs to be taken. I don't like the way Barnes was used at UNC and actually think he'll fit much better into the NBA game. He started out the season slow but actually conformed to the system there where he was mainly used as just an outside shooter and started to do well with it. That tells me he's smart enough to fit in anywhere. I think Jones is a freakish athlete that will probably be more of a SF in the NBA. He could be a McGrady like scorer (pre-injury) if he works hard enough.

I'd also be fine with drafting Kemba Walker. He's probably the best player I've seen at UCONN and they've put plenty of guys in the NBA. He's not a pure PG but he is a scorer that can create his own shot and doesn't back down from a challenge. Detroit doesn't have anybody besides Stuckey who can create for himself. They really need another explosive scorer. I'd be fine with Stuckey moving to SG for a guy like Walker to start at PG. Maybe we could even trade BG at that point. If we could bring in another 1st round draft pick it would help out Detroit tremendously.

I'd also be happy with Jimmer (even though people don't think he's worth a pick that high). Again, he's an explosive scorer and a great shooter. I think he has the size and toughness to excel in the NBA at PG. The thing with him is not only did he score well but he made the people around him better. He still dished out a fair amount of assists too. I think his game is going to translate to the NBA better than most do. He's kind of like what Steph Curry was his last season in college. Most didn't think he'd be that good in the leauge.... I think he's proved them wrong.

John Henson is an interesting pick. He kind of reminds me of Austin Daye though. Daye is actually bigger. Henson will definitely need to put on a lot of size. He's a huge project. He showed signs of being a decent rebounder but I'm not sold yet. I'd say pass on him for what our team needs. Daye is further along than he is and is a better scorer.

Some think we might end up with Brandon Knight too. Again he's not a pure PG either. He was more of a scorer. I like his size and like I did mention above we do need another scorer. I wouldn't be upset if we ended up with him.

A lot of people think we might end up with Jujuan Johnson out of Purdue in the 2nd round too. I'd be elated if that happened. I think for a 2nd rounder he has a good chance of making it in the NBA. I thought he did a spectacular job for Purdue this year. He could still add another 10-15 pounds and probably will. The thing I like about him is he rebounds well and blocks shots. Those are numbers that always translate from the college game to the NBA. He's not limited offensively either. It kind of makes me wonder why he's not projected as a late 1st rounder....

We never know..... Joe D could be looking to move up in this draft too. We need to see exactly where everyone will be picking. This year it might be easier to move up since right now people are saying this isn't a good draft. While overall it is somewhat weak there still are some really good players to be had in the lottery. Detroit isn't going to land FA's. I know we all think of it as a great destination but the fact of the matter is they will need to hire a new head coach, haven't won in a couple years, and the city has really got a bad reputation in the press. I can't remember the last time a star FA signed in Detroit. BG and Charlie don't count, Webber was at the end of his career, Sheed was traded for..... I think the only way we're going to get better is through a trade and/or the draft. Besides we won't really have much money this year anyhow. I think if we can resign Stuckey (and maybe T-Mac) and make a good move in the draft it will greatly help things out. Prince could be on his way out still. I know Joe D said he wanted to keep him but I'm not sold on the fact that Prince wants to stay yet. Let's try to get as high of a pick as we can and get the best player available regardless of position.

Nastradamus

04-04-2011 02:28 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

I agree that we need to kind of ignore position. I probably wouldn't take the Morris twins in the lottery either, though I'd start thinking about Markieff at the end of the lottery. I just don't know Marcus' position.

I'd take the chance on Kanter probably. No, he's not as good as Cousins, but he's better at certain things and a better fit. He's not a headcase and he's physical and a good defender, which Cousins is not. While Kanter is skilled, he'll never be the elite scoring big Cousins will be if he lasts in the league. He'd be a great pair with Monroe up front and there just aren't enough good bigs in this draft to pass on one of his talent, considering our position.

Draft Kemba and trade him to Philly for Jrue Holliday(we'll include more probably)? I've always coveted Holliday and I don't think he fits in Philly's future plans. Put Kemba with a guy like Turner who can run the piont and I think you have something really dangerous.

I'd rather not tough Henson or Knight. I'm not big on combo guards and I don't know what Henson can play at this level. He's a backup big, energy off the bench I think. He can't start for the type of team I'd like to build.

Screwy as he is, it'd be too hard to pass on Perry Jones. he and Daye would be an interesting combo at the F spots and occasionally the 2/3

dd24

04-04-2011 02:46 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

If I knew for sure Kanter would be a great defender and rebounder I'd draft him ahead of any of the other players I talked about. I don't need my C to be a great scorer, especially when you have a guy like Monroe who will probably end up getting about 20ppg. I need my C to be a guy to lock down the middle. I'm not certain Kanter is that guy yet. Maybe there will be some footage between now and draft time that can persuade me. The Europeans are so hard to judge because we never see them....

If we could get a guy like Jrue Holliday I'd do that too. I'm not sure Philly wants to trade him though. I really like his game though he hasn't progressed as much as I thought he would this year.

DetroitPiston

04-04-2011 04:03 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

This is looking like a very weak draft. No one really stands out that I'd like, regardless of need or potential.

dd24

04-04-2011 05:32 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

Quote:

Originally Posted by DetroitPiston

This is looking like a very weak draft. No one really stands out that I'd like, regardless of need or potential.

There's always going to be some difference makers though. At the bottom of the 1st round and through the 2nd round it is weak. I think when people are saying it's weak they mean in depth. People also said the 2009 draft class was weak (outside of Griffin). Then we saw what guys like Evans, Curry, DeRozan, Jennings, Daye, Holiday, Lawson, Collison, Beubois, Jerebko, etc, etc, etc did for their teams. I think it's all about being smart and trying to get the best guy. There's a few people in this draft that will be stars. We just have to do our homework and try to nab one of them.

Nastradamus

04-05-2011 04:45 PM

Re: Piston draft prospects

Quote:

Originally Posted by dd24

If I knew for sure Kanter would be a great defender and rebounder I'd draft him ahead of any of the other players I talked about. I don't need my C to be a great scorer, especially when you have a guy like Monroe who will probably end up getting about 20ppg. I need my C to be a guy to lock down the middle. I'm not certain Kanter is that guy yet. Maybe there will be some footage between now and draft time that can persuade me. The Europeans are so hard to judge because we never see them....

If we could get a guy like Jrue Holliday I'd do that too. I'm not sure Philly wants to trade him though. I really like his game though he hasn't progressed as much as I thought he would this year.

i think its been hard on Jrue because they take the ball out of his hands a lot. He has the size, shooting, defense and ability to run an offense that we want in our PGs though. He could be another Chauncey type IMO. i don't know what we could give for him though.

Nobody knows for sure if Kanter can be a great defender/rebounder, but I think we are in position to take that gamble. We don't need perimeter guys and there are no other defensive Centers in the draft. Kanter has size,physicality,skill and great BB IQ. Not much tape,but he's practiced against Kentucky's talented team and has always done well when he's played over in Euorpe, at the Nike thing etc. It depends on the situation, but I think we would be hard pressed to pass and that's not because I think Kanter is a sure thing or anything like that.

I could see a scenario where he falls to 7 too, especially if Kemba moves up, which I can see at this point honestly. Irving,Williams,Valanciunas,Vessely,Walker,Burks,J ones and Montejunias and maybe another guy or 2 like Jimmer,Knight or T.Jones all have potential to go ahead of us. odds are it doesn't play out that way, but who knows.